I can just imagine all the strangers at gas stations asking "what is that on the trailer..." and the inevitable discussion that follows!

Mark: as it turns out, I didn't get a single question like that. I did get a bunch of double takes but I don't think most people could even identify what they were seeing as a car chassis. Because of it's unitized design (i.e. no frame rails), the chassis looked more like a big piece of industrial equipment sitting on the trailer.

__________________Joel HeinkeBe original; don't be afraid of being bold!

My first objective now is to get the chassis to a ďrollerĒ state. This is so I can start to figure out positioning for things like the cowl, windshield, door mounts, radiator, etc. The advice Iíve always been given by the wizened veterans of auto body creation is to start with the glass and wheels and then you know what youíre working with for the bodywork to fill the spaces in between. So hanging the suspension and wheel hubs quickly sorted to the top of my list. In addition, I also need to figure out rim specifics like back spacing so I can try to find a source for Miura Campagnolo look alike rims.

I bought the suspension and sway bar packages to go with the chassis. The ďAĒ arms are made from steel round tube and use heim joints for all points of flex. The suspension uses single coil-over shocks on front, dual coil-overs at the rear, and aluminum uprights. Charley had just redesigned these ďAĒ arms to incorporate an integral adjuster such that wheel alignment can be completed without the need to undo the heim joints. Itís a real nice touch on what was already a very nice ďAĒ arm design.

As I started to mount the suspension, I noticed a few new cuts on my fingers. A side effect of the CNC router cut chassis members is lots of sharp exposed edges. I found it to be like working around many razor blades where a modest touch on an edge resulted in a new cut. So I stopped all assembly work, broke out a file, and de-burred the exposed edges where ever I could. This took a day to complete but my now healing hands are much better off for it.

After hanging the suspension, I broke out some tires I had in the garage to get a better sense for what it looked like. Hey, itís starting to look more like a car than a jungle gym now.

My curiosity was getting the best of me as to what the chassis weighs. I broke out a couple of bathroom scales and gave it a measure. The front is 217 pounds and rear 219 for a total of 436 pounds. This is the complete chassis plus ďAĒ arms, uprights, and sway bars but without coil-over shocks, wheel bearings/hubs, steering rack and wheels. I donít know how this compares to a steel Miura chassis but Iím guessing itís lighter by a decent amount.

__________________Joel HeinkeBe original; don't be afraid of being bold!

I took a second Miura related road trip in as many weeks. This time just a day trip to buy and haul home a donor car. I found a 1991 Corvette on Craigslist that had already been stripped of all the drive train but still had a good windshield and both doors with glass.

I figured for $200 it was a good deal as I could potentially also use the cowl, windshield wipers/motor, door posts, door hinges, electric window mechanisms, hood latches, etc. that were still on the car. With no suspension or wheels it was a bit of a chore to load on the trailer, but with the help of a couple of moving dollies, a very large floor jack, and a come-along winch we were able to belly flop the Corvette carcass up on the trailer.

As you might recall, I plan to use a C4 Corvette windshield in the Miura. With this donor car I now have the opportunity to also use the metal in the cowl, windshield posts and top bow such that glass can be glued in versus having a separate seal. Iím hoping to also use the Corvette side windows as they already have the proper angle on the front edge to match the windshield. The Corvette doors are fairly long as is the side glass so this maybe an issue.

As a bonus, the Corvette still had its 6 way power adjustable leather sport seats. These just might work in the Miura. The leather is worn, so that will need replacement but they do fit well in the chassis.

The Miura was originally outfitted with much simpler seats. So Iíll need to decide if these seats are too much but thatís a decision that can wait for much later in the project.

__________________Joel HeinkeBe original; don't be afraid of being bold!

It took a couple of days to strip down the Corvette dash saving the parts of the wiring harness for the steering column and doors. Iím amazed at the number of wires in this car, the main harness is about 3 inches thick with wires. The door and windshield posts appear to be strongly built as they provide the main and only support for the cowl and windshield. Iím hoping to reuse the posts, cowl and windshield as an entire unit so Iím being careful to keep it intact during removal.

The windshield and cowl are ready to lift out after drilling out a bunch of spot welds, cold chiseling them loose and making a horizontal cut across the firewall. The firewall is providing no structural support and was easy to cut as it is all made of FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastic). With the help of my two sons, the windshield unit was easily lifted and carried to the garage without inflicting any damage.

The windshield is now looking good as new after cleaning it with a little bit of glass cleaner. After I remove the steering column mounting bracket from the cowl (thatís about a dozen more spot welds to tackle), Iíll be ready to do a trial fit for this entire unit to the chassis.

__________________Joel HeinkeBe original; don't be afraid of being bold!

The Strickland chassis has a steering column mount built-in so I didnít need the one on the C4 cowl. After cutting it off, my son and I lifted the cowl/windshield and set it what looked like a logical place. Itís top heavy so a brace is needed to keep it upright.

With this done, I figured I might as well trial fit the steering column so I could get the ďdrivers feelĒ for the positioning of the windshield and steering together. After cutting the factory mounting bracket off the steering column, it slid right in place. The FedEx truck pulled up and dropped off the steering U-joints as I was working on it, so I could now attach it all the way to the rack & pinion as well.

Visibility through the windshield is good sitting in the driverís seat, the steering wheel positioning is very comfortable, and thereís plenty of leg room. I can easily get into and out of the driverís seat even though the windshield sweeps back a long way. I obviously wonít be using the Corvette steering wheel and will likely replace it with a larger diameter wheel given the Miura wonít have power steering. The steering column is a tilt variety so the wheel can be tilted up for easier ingress/egress from the driverís seat. All in all, Iím very happy with the fit of these donor C4 parts for use in the Miura.

I still need to determine the exact vertical and horizontal positioning for the windshield as it may need to move it an inch or so from where it sits now. I think I need to mock up the placement for the rear part of door opening such that I can use the length of the side window glass to help position the windshield. This will also help verify if the C4 side window glass will work in the Miura as it might be too long.

__________________Joel HeinkeBe original; don't be afraid of being bold!

Knowing the wheel positioning is one of the factors I need to work out in order to solve for the windshield positioning. To get the wheel positioning established, I need to have the suspension setup and wheels aligned or at least real close on alignment. Part of suspension setup is mounting the Pinto rack & pinion unit. The drivers side was easy as it had mounting holes already drilled in the casting and all I needed to do was drill out matching holes in the chassis. The passenger side however didnít have a built-in mount.

I looked online and found a nice machined aluminum mount could be purchased. But it also occurred to me that I could make this mount myself. I had acquired a Bridgeport mill about a year ago and have been slowly teaching myself how to use it. Machining out this mount looked like a great practice project and I found a chunk of ĺĒ thick aluminum plate in my metal collection.

After cutting out a rectangular piece just a bit larger than needed, I machined the edges to square it up and bored a 1 3/8Ē hole in it.

After some more machining operations, I had added mounting holes and took off some unneeded excess metal. Once installed, it holds the rack firm and even looks pretty good.

__________________Joel HeinkeBe original; don't be afraid of being bold!